“Where is Santa now?” is the thought on every child’s mind on Christmas Eve as they set out their homemade holiday cookies, a glass of milk, and carrots for Santa’s reindeer. And every year, beginning on December 1st, NORAD’s Santa Tracker helps raise excitement for the mythical visitor by inviting kids to get a sneak peek on his sleigh ride around the world.  

Over the years, famous names like Michelle Obama and Ringo Star have gotten in on the tracking, answering calls from curious young people on NORAD’s Santa hotline or working as the voiceover for the Santa Cam. According to History Professor Gerry Bowler at the University of Manitoba, NORAD’s program is “one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa Claus story that has stuck.” This article will answer all your burning questions about the myths and truths of NORAD’s tracking of jolly old Saint Nick. 

Truth or Myth?

On a chilly Christmas Eve in 1955, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was watching the skies from their base in Colorado when they received a call from the Red Phone. A ring from the phone was alarming, because it meant a CONAD commander or the Pentagon was calling, and it generally wasn’t with good news. U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup answered and across the line came the voice of a little girl, “Are you really Santa Claus?”

Shoup was surprised and confused, but decided to play along. He told the little girl that he was indeed Santa Claus and asked if she had been a good girl that year.

She told Shoup that she would leave some snacks out for Santa and his reindeer then continued to read off her Christmas list. Shoup listened intently, thanking the girl for her kindness. She then asked the question that every child asks at least once when wondering about the mystery of Santa Claus: “How does Santa get to all the kid’s houses in one night?”

Shoup answered, saying that it was the magic of Christmas, then told the girl she should head to bed so she can be asleep before Santa arrived.

What Shoup didn’t realize when he ended the call with the little girl was that she was the first in what would be a long line of calls from curious young people that night. Children were calling the CONAD station due to a typo in a local newspaper ad inviting kids to call Santa. The advertisement, which was sponsored by Sears Roebuck, read “Hey Kiddies! Call me on my private phone and I will talk to you personally any time day or night.” However, the number they ran with the ad was off by a single digit.

Shoup selected a few of his men to play “Santa” for the night, answering calls from curious children and giving them Santa’s location. After this fateful night, NORAD began their yearly tracking of Santa for children everywhere.  

The Facts

Although this version of the story is magical and heart-warming, this is not the true history behind NORAD’s Santa Tracking.

The real story of tracking Santa started as an effort to ease the general public’s fear of attack while the country was at the height of World War II. President Eisenhower reportedly ordered for a press release offering “Christmas Guidance” to war correspondents across the globe.

The release reported that a new North Pole Command had been formed with Santa Claus directing operations aided by a small army of gnomes. They suppressed locations specifics, claiming that Santa’s methods of visiting the home of every child in the world in a single night was accomplished through “secret devices” and “special scientific techniques.”

The message’s purpose was to invite positive publicity for the Eisenhower administration and its handling of the war. The note was a hit.

In 1948, fears from World War II evolved into fears of an attack closer to home with the emergence of the Cold War. In an effort to bring more awareness to their work, the newly-established U.S. Air Force concocted a merry message of their own. It was released on Christmas Eve 1948, and reported that an “early warning radar net to the north” had detected “one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer.” The Associated Press then forwarded this “report” onto the public. Despite its moderate success, this was the only time such a notice was leaked to the press in this fashion.

That was until 1955, when the events of November 30^th sparked what would become the legend of NORAD’s Santa Tracker.

On November 30, 1955, Shoup was manning a telephone at an Air Force base in Colorado (it should be noted that this was not the Red Phone). Shoup received a call from a little girl asking if Shoup was Saint Nick. Contrary to what the legend says, Shoup answered the little girl’s questions with a gruff, “there may be a guy named Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction.”

A few weeks later, while recounting the phone call, Shoup got an idea. He sent out a press release claiming that CONAD was tracking Santa, and the press ate it up. And the following year, to give their name a little more boost, Shoup did it again.

Long after the Cold War ended, CONAD was transformed to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and the tradition continued with millions of children worldwide tuning in every year to track their beloved and mythical jolly Saint Nick.

NORAD Today

These days on Christmas Eve, children can log into NORAD’s Santa Tracker and see a map of the world. Tiny presents dot the locations he has already visited and the small camera icon allows children to see animated clips of Santa soaring around famous landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, the Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and more.

Every year, the NORAD Tracks Santa Web Site receives nearly twenty million unique visitors from 200 countries worldwide. NORAD volunteers take more than 140,000 calls to the NORAD hotline from children around the world. And in the age of today’s social media, NORAD has made it possible to track Santa through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube using the handle @noradsanta.

Growing up in the 20^th century, we all remember that toy we loved the most. The one we would never let out of our sight – an obsession that frustrated our parents. When the holidays arrived, we were excited by the prospect of new toys to add to our collections. But have you ever wondered where your beloved Barbie or your favorite Lego set came from?

From the early 1900s to modern day, we’re looking at the history of some of the world’s most popular toys that emerged from the 20th century, and whose legacy still carries on today. 

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The Rocking Horse

Back in the Medieval Ages, a toy was created that allowed kids to pretend they were riding a horse by placing a stick between their legs and “riding” around. A fake horse head was attached to the top of the stick. This invention is today known as a hobby horse, and is the earliest rendition of the rocking horse.

The barrel horse was invented in the 16^th century. In this version, the hobby horse adopted a barrel for a body that children could sit on, and was supported by four legs made from logs. Unfortunately, the crude construction, built of solid wood with a high center of gravity, meant it fell over easily.

It was with the invention of bow rockers in the 17^th century that the rocking horse took its modern shape. Rockers are the curved bottom stretch of wood between the bow and stern of a boat. The same strategy was applied to the rocking horse. As a result, children could now move the toy back and forth.

After a sharp decline in production because of wars in the early 20^th century, skilled craftsmen took up the art of the rocking horse again in the mid-1900s, building intricately designed rocking horses. The toy was reintroduced to the market and returned to the spotlight where it has remained to today.

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Barbie

In 1959, Ruth Handler was watching her daughter play with paper dolls and noticed her daughter was putting the dolls into adult situations. She pitched the idea of a 3-D adult doll to her husband, Elliot Handler. Together, they co-founded Mattel with Elliot’s business partner Matt Manson, and began a line of toys that would revolutionize the industry.

The public was initially hesitant about Barbie after seeing her first appearance at the 1960 American Toy Fair in New York City. The first doll sold for only three dollars, and came as a brunette or blond teenage fashion model from Willows, Wisconsin. Slowly, the doll gained traction in the industry. One year later, a red-headed doll was introduced to the Mattel line, and by 1980 the first African American and Hispanic Barbie dolls hit the market.

Now, there are over 125 possible careers for Barbie, including an astronaut and President of the United States. Several film and television characters have also gotten their own doll. Today, Barbie dolls continue to fly off the shelves, and should you get your hands on a mint 1959 Barbie, you could potentially sell it for almost $28,000.

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Tinker Toys

Tinker Toys were the beginning of what would become a push for construction toys throughout the 20th century. Charles Pajeau of Illinois proposed the idea in 1913. As the story goes, Pajeau was inspired after witnessing children play with pencils, sticks, and empty spools of thread. He created a toy that consisted of several basic wooden pieces, which children could assemble to invent a variety of 3-D objects.

Pajeau presented the idea at the American Toy Fair in New York City in 1914, but no one was interested in his creation. Leaving the fair, he convinced two drugstores in Grand Central Terminal to carry the toy. He created elaborate window displays, including a fan to make a Tinker Toy windmill spin. That year around Christmas time, he hired several people, dressed them as elves, and asked them to play with the toys in a window display in a Chicago department store, and it worked. One year later, over a million sets had been sold.

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Legos

Legos are the simple plastic colorful construction toys that, when stacked together, can make some pretty amazing creations.

The Lego Group began creating blocks in 1949, and the modern Lego brick was patented in early 1958. The name “lego” comes from the Danish phrase “leg godt” which translates to “play well.”

By 1978, Lego expanded their line to produce mini figurines that served as characters in the sets they offered. These have since become staples in Lego products. In recent years, movies, games, and amusement parks, and building competitions have helped to build the franchise. In May 2011, Legos were taken to a new height when a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission brought 13 Lego kits to the International Space Station, where astronauts built models to see how they would respond to microgravity. Today, iconic scenes like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, the Star Wars Death Star, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland have been made into Lego kits for people to collect and construct. 

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Lincoln Logs

Like Legos and Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs came to the toy scene when there was a massive increase in demand for construction toys on the market. They were invented by John Lloyd Wright, the second son of the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. John invented Lincoln Logs around 1916, while working with his father in Japan. The design, consisting of simple notched miniature logs that connect to construct buildings, is based off the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo that was designed by John’s father.

When John returned to the United States in 1918, he created The Red Square Toy Company and began distributing Lincoln Logs. The toy’s current manufacturer, K’Nex, claims the product was named after Abraham Lincoln, as the former president was born in a log cabin. Others suggest that the current name ‘Lincoln Logs’ is a misspelling of the original name ‘linkin’ logs.’ Regardless, the legacy of Lincoln Logs was solidified in 1999, when the toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

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Russian Nesting Dolls

Russian nesting dolls are best known as souvenirs, but did you know they were actually a popular toy in the 20th century? The most traditional style resembles a young Russian woman dressed in traditional clothing with a scarf on her head. The toy consists of a series of dolls progressively smaller in size and stacked inside each other. The number of dolls in a set range from 5 to 30, though a skilled craftsperson can fit much more.

Historically, the dolls are made from lime, birch, alder, and aspen. Their production is relatively simple, and hasn’t changed much over the years. Felled trees are stripped from their bark to the solidest inner rings of the tree. They are kept in open air for two years, until being cut into workpieces for the nesting dolls. Now there are over 400 different types of themed dolls, ranging from cartoons to politics.

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Silly Putty

The creation of Silly Putty came as a complete accident. During World War II, an engineer named James Wright was trying to create a substitute for synthetic rubber when he accidentally dropped boric acid into silicone oil. The result was Silly Putty, it would go on to revolutionize the toy industry in the 20th century. However, as cool as Wright’s new “nutty putty” (as he called it) was, the discovery turned out to be no more effective than the synthetic rubber the company was already using.

In 1949, toy store owner Ruth Fallgatter rediscovered Wright’s putty. She showed it to Pete Hodgson, a local marketer, and he instantly saw the potential. He fit bits of it into colorful plastic eggs and began selling them around Easter time. It was Hodgson who gave ‘Silly Putty’ the name that stuck. Throughout the 20^th century, Silly Putty grew in popularity with its ability to be easily stretched, broken, and formed into a variety of shapes.

Silly Putty has remained a household favorite, but for reasons other than play. As it turns out, the putty has a series of practical uses as well, like picking up lint, dirt, and pet hair from surfaces, and for its adhesive properties. It has also been used to help alleviate stress and anxiety. This multi-use substance, in its easily recognizable bright shell, was a key player in the history of 20^th century toys.

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Mr. Potato Head

The original concept of Mr. Potato Head used actual fruits and vegetables, and was first fashioned by George Lerner in 1952 in New York City. Lerner called the toy “make a face,” and used a real potato. However, the use of true fruits and vegetables was dropped when Hasbro took over production in 1964, and began supplying consumers with toy kits containing plastic potatoes.

Over the years, the Potato Head characters have been given a series of accessories like boats, cars, and different outfits that allow Mr. Potato Head to be almost any character. You likely best know him from his appearances in the Toy Story franchise, but what you may not know was that in 1998 Mr. Potato Head had his own show called The Mr. Potato Head Show, though its production was short lived. Today, Mr. Potato Head is featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and can be found dressed in a shirt and tie in Disneyland parks across the globe.

During the 20^th century, holidays at a department store meant one thing: winter window displays. Across the country, department stores would develop unique and intricately decorated windows for customers to view from the street – some even featured animation. With the holidays now in full swing, we’re featuring some of our favorite vintage photos of holiday windows in the US.

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From the early 1900s through the 2000s, viewing a store’s holiday window was considered a treat for the family, and many would plan outings to view what magical ideas a store had come up with each year. In this photo, a family looks at the Christmas window as Woodward & Lothrop’s on December 26, 1978. 

Besides showcasing the artistry and creativity of department store employees, store windows were also often feats of engineering. This 1968 photo shows a father and his children looking at the mechanical animals dancing at a Miller & Rhodes Christmas window display. 

Many holiday window displays would center around various storylines, drawn from classic holiday tales. For the Marshall Field’s Christmas on State Street 1945 windows, the store told the story of Clement C. Moore’s “T’was the Night Before Christmas.” 

Even a simply decorated window could be a cause for delight with viewers. In this photo, a little girl gleefully looks on the Christmas windows at Hutzler’s department store in 1971.

Besides Christmas Nativity scenes, Santa was also a popular favorite for many store windows, typically showcasing his workshop or his Christmas Eve sleigh ride. In this photo of a Kaufmann’s department store window, Santa is surrounded by the toys he’s created for the children and store. 

As the world began to become smaller in the wake of the two World Wars, many stores began to feature exotic scenes of distance countries. In this 1940 Christmas display, Dayton’s department store has included an elephant as their display centerpiece. 

Store windows were also more sparsely decorated during wartime. In this 1940s Christmas window, Rochester’s McCurdy’s has opted to forgo using any icicles in their display. The metal typically used for the icicles was instead put towards the war efforts.

The purpose of most holiday windows was, above all, to sell more of a store’s product. In many cases, stores would simply feature the newest toys they had for sale in their streetside windows, for children to point out to their parents. This 1936 photo shows a group of children looking at the new toys at F.W. Woolworth’s, several of which were drawn from popular culture, such as Shirley Temple, or Popeye the Sailor Man. 

Religious-themed windows were very popular with many companies, especially during the early-to-mid 1900s. This 1950s Christmas window is Neusteters’ shows a “Child’s Dream of Christmas,” complete with heavenly angels.